“The Americans have given up on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,” said Knesset member Yaakov Peri, the former director of the Shin Bet, in an interview with Al-Monitor. In his assessment, the closer President Barack Obama’s term comes to an end, the less chance of American involvement in a regional diplomatic process.

Peri served as minister of science and space in the previous government. Just before the March 17 elections, however, he said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had deceived him by giving him reason to think that he was planning to make a significant diplomatic move. Peri added that the current stalemate on that front will bring stability to the right-wing coalition and allow Netanyahu to survive as prime minister. Despite the current conventional wisdom throughout the political system, Peri believes that Knesset member Avigdor Liberman, the chairman of Yisrael Beitenu, is likely to join the government if it survives the approval of its budget for 2016.

The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor:  Is the agreement with Iran as disastrous as so many politicians say it is, including the head of your own party, Yair Lapid?